A stunning Anton Horvat platinum, sapphire, and diamond brooch, which held at its center a cushion-cut, 6-carat blue sapphire, sailed past the pre-sale estimate of $4,000-$6,000 to gavel for $108,000 at Nadeau's Auction Gallery's annual New Year's Day Auction. The event was held Jan. 1 in the firm's gallery, located at 25 Meadow Road in Windsor, Conn.
"Quite simply, this was our best auction ever, in terms of the overall quality of the merchandise, which was spectacular, and the total gross, which landed at right around $1.33 million," said Ed Nadeau, owner of Nadeau's Auction Gallery. "Bidding was spirited in the room, on the phones, and over the Internet, many left bids were submitted, and it was just a great sale. Many, if not most, of the lots ended up selling for far more than even their high estimates."
Online, the auction had a little fewer than 2,000 registered bidders, participating through Invaluable.com (formerly Artfact.com). Those bidders submitted 2,026 bids, from 49 countries. Left bidders, phone bidders, and bidders in the auction gallery accounted for 595 registered bidders, with a total of 1,062 left and phone bids placed. In all, 2,537 bidders placed 3,088 bids.
The sapphire and diamond brooch was the top lot of the 600+ lot auction, proving that fine estate jewelry will trump even John James Audubon bird prints from the 19th century, a first-edition copy of Herman Melville's novel “Moby Dick” from 1851, a full-set of 25 books by Mark Twain signed by the author, and palace-size Persian rugs, all of which were also in the auction.
The Anton Horvat brooch proved to be irresistible to bidders, who were drawn to its massive and beautiful center sapphire stone as well as its filigree mounting set with 98 diamonds. The diamonds surrounding the sapphire were set in a filigree undercarriage on each shoulder of the brooch, with two additional sapphires on either side. Included was the original Horvat box.
The second top lot of the sale was a 1620 manuscript of the Persian “Shah Nameh” (or “Book of Kings”), a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Firdausi, sometime between 977 and 1010 A.D. Once word of the manuscript's availability reached the Middle East, Internet bidding reached a fever pitch. It sold for $78,000. The pre-sale estimate was $4,000-$6,000.
The “Shah Nameh” is the national epic poem of Iran (Persia) and the Persian-speaking world. It contains 50,000 verses, telling the mythical and historical past of the Persian Empire. It is of central importance to Persian culture, even today, and is regarded as a literary masterpiece. Adding to the manuscript's allure were its 33 beautiful, hand-illuminated plates.
A first-edition copy of Melville's “Moby Dick” (or “The Whale”), published in New York in 1851 by Harper and Brothers, sold for $30,750, against a pre-sale estimate of $4,000-$8,000. The set of 25 volumes by Twain (American Publishing Co., Hartford, Conn., 1899) was numbered 391 of 521 sets. It was the autograph edition, signed as both "S.L. Clemens" and "Mark Twain." It breezed to $18,000, easily beating the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000.
The Audubon prints were around 38 inches in height, the biggest made at the time, and known in the trade as double elephant folio prints. Five of the nine were of large American birds; six still had their original Kennedy Gallery labels en verso, with Whatman watermarks, very important to collectors. The prints were from the estate collection of Ms. Augusta Smith.
The four top achievers of the group were Brown Pelican ($24,000); Great American Cock Male ($36,000); Whooping Crane ($14,400); and Great American Hen and Young Vulgo ($24,000). All were printed around the 1820s or 1830s, while Audubon was alive. Great American Cock Male (or Wild Turkey) sold within range, having been expected to realize $20,000-$40,000.
Two important etchings by the renowned Australian-born American artist and print maker Martin Lewis (1881-1962) also crossed the auction block. Both were drypoint and sandpaper ground etchings. One, titled “Stoops in Snow” (1930, Edition 115), showed figures walking in New York City's snowy streets ($31,950). The other, titled “Bay Windows” (1929, Edition 104), also depicted a snowy Manhattan street scene ($20,400). Both were pencil signed, and both ended up topping the pre-sale estimates, which were $10,000-$20,000 for each.
Other artworks included an oil on canvas by Edward Moran (1829-1901), titled “Shad Fishing on the Hudson” (1873), 13.5-by-23.5-inches, signed and dated, which sold for $28,800 against a pre-sale estimate of $6,000-$8,000); an oil on canvas by Guy Pene du Bois (1884-1958), titled “Nude Woman” (Artist's Wife), 25-by-20-inches, artist signed, which sold for $18,000; and an oil-on-board rendering by Pieter Claesz (1597-1661), titled “Morning Still Life,” unsigned, 10.25-by-13.75-inches, which brought $13,200, besting the estimate of $5,000-$10,000).
A rare, late 19th-century ivory design Sultanabad Oriental carpet, in overall excellent condition, measuring 11 feet, 9 inches by 19 feet, 9 inches, changed hands for $29,250, nearly tripling the high pre-sale estimate of $6,000-$10,000. Also, an Aesthetic Victorian mahogany table with silver inlaid spider web top and set on turned and squared legs ending in brass feet (N.Y., circa 1870-1880) gaveled for $10,800. The table was estimated at $400-$800.
Nadeau's Auction Gallery is planning a major Americana and Chinese auction in the spring (times and dates yet to be determined).
For more information, visit www.NadeausAuction.com.